Latch



Sept. 27, 1932. w,- E. CHENEY LATCH Filed Nov. 20, 1929 Patented Sept. 27, 1932 OFFICE WALLACEE. CHENEY, or MILWAUKEE, isconsin 7 v LATCH Application filed November 20. 1929. Serial No. 408,521.

This invention relates to latch mechanisms. It may be applied particularly in connection with the hoods of automobiles but is not lim of an automobile a partbeing in section,

showing the latch mechanism of Fig. 1 in ited to such use. 7

Oneof the objects of the invention is the provision of a latch mechanism which is simple in construction and may be cheaply manufactured. A more specific object is the provision of a latch mechanism which may be manufactured entirely of stamped parts if desired.

A further object is the provision of a latch mechanism which is easily operable, and more particularly in which the closure may be unlatched, opened and closed by a single handle, and, more specifically, unlatchedand opened by a single motion.

Another object is the provision of a latch mechanism in which the latch member is caused to engage and disengage its keeper with a snap action.

Still another object is the provision of a latch mechanism in whichthe bias of a restraining means may be overcome by toggle action. 7 i g A still further object is the provision of a latch mechanism in which a continuation of the movement for causing the latch to engage its keeper causes the closure to be clamped to its seat. Other objects will appear hereinafter as the description of the invention proceeds. V V

The novel features of the invention will appear from this specification and the accome panying drawing forming a part thereof and showing several embodiments of the IILVGIL- tion, and all these novel features are intended 8 being a section of Fig. 4 along the line III-III looking in the direction of the are rows. I

Fig. & is a section of Fig. 3 along the line IVIV, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation with parts in sectlon, of a modification, and a Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of the front its relation to the hood of the automobile.

The invention will be described with reference to its use in connection with automobile hoods. I

Referring to Fig. 1. a portion of a frame l of an automobile is shown. The side 2 of the engine "hood (see also Fig. 6) is'adapted to be latched in closed position by a latch member 3 which is here shown as having a hooked end 4: adapted to engage a keeper 5. The keeper 5 maybe of any suitable form here shown as a rod of inverted U-shape suitably fastened to the frame 1.. g

The latch member '3 is freely movable but its movements are confined to substantially asingle plane by a housing 6 which may be made of sheet metal bent to U-shape' and having wings 6 6 which are suitably fastened (directly if desired) to the inside of the hoodside 2. If desired, a plate-'17may be first suitably fastened to the wings 6 6 and the combined plate and. wings then fastened to the hood side 2. The latch member 3 is biased to various positions, as will appear more'fully hereinafter, by a spring 7 here shown as having one end in engagement with a pin 8 carried by latch member 3, and the other in engagement with an 'ear 9 struck out from a side of the housing 6'. The pin 8 may obviously be omittedand the spring fastened directly to the member 3.

An operating lever 10 is mounted for move ment within the housing 6, and is provided with a. handle portion 11 which projects through an opening 18130 the outside of the hood-side 2., The lever lO-is swingable about a pivot pin12 carried by the sides of the housing 6. The pin 12 may be riveted to the housing sides as shown in Fig. 4. .The lever 10 carries a pin 13 adapted to engage a'cam surface 14' on the latch member 3. The cam surface let terminates at its lower end in a hook-like shoulder 15. The lever 10 has a shoulder 16 which in -the position shown in Fig. 1 abuts against the plate 17; (on the itedby a stop formed by bending over one of the side walls of the housing 6.

The housing 6 is shown as carrying at the bend of the U, an abutment 19, which may be made of rubber and provided with a metal cap 20, suitably clinched thereon. In order to better confine sidewise movement of latch member 3, as viewed in Fig. 4, the housing 6 has an inwardly stamped portion 21. The shoulder formed by this portion also serves to limit the downward movement of latch member 3, in conjunction with a lug 22 carside of the housing 6is bent inwardly at 23 for a purpose which will appear hereinafter. A moulding 2 1 is indicated, against which the hood-side 2 is seated when it is closed, but this need not be present, the mouldings on the radiator' and body being usually sufficient.

The operation of that form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1 is as follows. It is of course understood that in the case of an automobile hood, each hood side is preferably provided with two handles and latch mechanisms .as hereinbefore-described. To release and raise the hood the handles 11 are grasped with preferably a slight inward pressure (to the left as viewed in Fig. 1) while the handles are lifted and turnedcounterclockwise. The slight inward pressure prevents the immediate lifting of the hood due to any upward pull on the handles 11, by reason of the frictional engagement of the hood withits seat against the radiator shell and the cowl pillar, When the lever 10 is swung in a counterclockwise direction, by the handle 11, the pin 13at first slightly swings the latch member 3 counterclockwise about the keeper 5 as a fulcrum, due to the shape of the cam 14. This slightly increases the compression of the abutment 19 (which is already imder compression). Further counterclockwise motion of lever. 10 brings the pin 13 into engagement with the shoulder 15. During the last mentioned portion of the motion no'further compression ofabutment 19 takes place since at that stage the pin 13 moves along ap ortion of the cam 14 which, for the then relative position of the parts, is preferably concentric with the pivot 12. When the pin 13 reaches-the shoulder 15, the latch member 3 and the lever 10 form a toggle and further movement of lever 10 straightens this toggle against the bias of spring 7. The lateh member 3 is thereby moved in a generally downward direction,

the hook sliding along the keeper 5, if the hood 2 is held in the position shown, to a position-such as shown in Fig. 2. Further counterclockwise,movement of'lever 10 Wlll causethe latch member 3 to move clockwise about keeper 5 as a fulcrum until the'latch member strikes the projection 23, and further' movement of lever 10 will bring the center of pin 13 toward the right of the line of action of the spring 7 and the toggle will collapse, with a positive snap action, to the position shown in Fig.3. The hood may now be freely lifted by the handle 11.

When the hood is to be closed the parts are brought to the position shown in Fig. 3 and the handle 11 depressed. This swings lever 10 in aclockwise direction and as the pin 13 crosses the line of action of the spring 7, the toggle snaps to the position shown in ,Fig. 2. Further clockwise motion of the ried by that member. A portion of the other lever permits the spring 7 to draw the latch member upwardly into hooked engagement withthe keeper Still .further movement of lever 10 causes the pin 13 to cam'the latch member 3 counterclockwise about the keeper as a fulcrum, the abutment 19 being compressed. This action clamps the hood-side 2 tightly against its seat. i

The abutment 19 is preferably resilient, but it maybe made non-resilient, the inherent resilience of the hood-side2 beingrelied on to take its place.

W hen, upon clockwise motion from its position in Fig. 3, the lever 10 reaches the position of Fig. 1 its motion is stopped as hereinbefore set forth. It will be noted that in that position the relation of the latch member 3 to the lever 10 is such that since the spring 7 andalso the abutment 19 tend to turn the member 3 clockwise about the keeper 5, said member will tend to turn the lever 10' (by action of the cam surface 14 on pin 13) in like direction about its pivot 12 and thereby keep theleverlO in the position shown in Fig. 1.? This action is assisted by the fact that in that position the pin 13 is somewhat above the pivot 12. If desired the lever 10 may be additionally held in that position by the provision of a depression 33 in a side of the housing 6 into which a projecting ,portion of the pin 13 snaps.

This action is asllO sisted, by the spring 7 which tends to swing the upper end of the latch member 3 toward the right as viewed in Fig. 4 and thereby pressesthe lever-10 in the same direction.

' It willbe. noted that in the position shown in Fig. 1, the latch member is supported at three points, two on one side thereof (the pin side inwardly against its seat. The spring I 7 of course also pulls the hood-side 2 downwardly. V

In case the hood has been lifted from the position shown in Fig. 3 and the handle 11 is then swung clockwise the latch member 3 is prevented from swinging toward the hoodside 2 far enough to catch the lower edge of the hood-side by the projections 23.

Should the latch member 3 be moved downwardly with respect to lever 10 while the parts are in the position of Fig. 1, a slightly hooked portion 34 of the latch member will cause counterclockwise motion of thelever 10 thus preventing disengagement of the pin 13 and cam 14. The latch member is moreover prevented from pulling entirely out of the housing 6 by the lug 22 which limits the downward motion of the latch member 3 with respect to the housing by striking the ledge formed by the portion 21 of the housing.

R'eferringnow to Fig. 5, this shows a somewhat modified embodiment of the invention. The parts corresponding to those in the remaining figures bear corresponding reference characters provided with a sub lettera.

The latch member 3 is here shown as provided with a straight engaging surface 528.

The member 3 is adapted to pass into a hole 29 in the frame 1 and in the engagedposition the latch member is in contact with the edge 32 of the hole 29. The housing 6 is here shown as having one side wall thereof extended downwardly to form the projection or tongue 30 having an edge 31 spaced from the edge 32. The bend of the U-shapedhousing may also be extended downwardly as'at 36 to strengthen the tongue 30. A depression 21 is struck into a side wall of the housing 6 and serves the same purpose as the portion 21 in Fig. 1. The latch member 3 is operable by means of a lever 10,, as described in connection with Fig. 1.

The operation of the embodiment shown in Fig. 5 is as follows. When the operating handle 11 (shown fragmentarily) is grasped and pulled upwardly, the abutment 19 is at first compressed and when straightening of the toggle, hereinbefore referred to in connection with Fig. 1, begins, the hood-side 2 is permitted to move slightly outwardly and upwardly, the latch member 3 remaining for the time bemg in engagement with its keeper.

The outward movement is however limited when the edge 31 of the tongue 30 strikes the edge 7 32. When the toggle collapses, the powerful snap action disengages the latch member 3 from the keeper formed by the edge of the hole in the frame and further upward pull on the handle 11 raises the hood as desired. The distance between the edges 31 and 32 is preferably such that they come into contact before the aforesaid snap action takes place.

Thus the hood 7 may be unlatched and opened by a single motion, that is an upward pull on the handle, orhandles, 11. The closing operation is the same asalready describedto secure by Let 2. In a latch mechanism, a latch, a keeper therefor, means for operating said latch comprlsing means for causing said latch to disengage said keeper with a motion substantially in the direction of the normal reaction" of saidkeeperon said latch and then with a snap action at substantially right angles to said direction. L

3. Ina latch mechanism, a latch member, a keeper therefor, means for operating said latch member comprising means forcausing said latch member to disengage said keeper with a motion substantially longitudinal of said latch member and then with a snap action in a direction substantially at right angles to said motion. Y I

4.- In combination with a latchable member movable away from its latched position in at least two directions substantially at right angles to each other, a latch member and keeper for restraining said member in both of said directions, means. for acting on said latch member to positively clamp said latchable member against movement in one of said directions, and means for resiliently restraining said latch member inthe other of said directions. 7 r 1 5. In combination with a latchable member movable awayfrom its latched position in a given direction, a latch member extenda ing substantially at right angles to said direction whensaid latchable member is in v vo latched position, a keeper forsaid latch member, and means including a pivoted lever cooperable-with said latch member for causing said latch member to swing about said keeper as a fulcrum to thereby clamp said latchable member against movement in said direction.

6; In combination with an automobile hood, a latch andkeeper, a spring associated" with said latch for restrainingsaidfhood against upward and goutward movement when said latch is in 'engag'ementwith said keeper, and means independent of said spring for acting on said latch topositively clamp said hood against movementin an outward direction. I i

7 In combination with an automobile hood having a side movable outwardly andalso-vertically, a latch member extending substantially parallel to the'side of said hood when said hood is in latched position, a keeper for said latch member, and means includj ing a pivoted lever cooperable withsaid latch outward movement.

8. In a latch mechanism, a latch member, a keeper, means for biasing said latch member against said keeper in the latched position, and means for overcomin'gsaid bias including an operating lever adapted to form a toggle with said latch member, said toggle being in a collapsed position when said latch member is in latched position.

9. Ina latch mechanism, a latch member freely movable in a plane, a keeper, means for biasing said .latch member against said keeper in the latched position, and means for overcoming said bias including an operating lever adapted to form a toggle with said latch member, said toggle being in a collapsed position when said latch'member is in latched position.

10. In a latch mechanism, a latch member, a keeper, means for biasing said latch member against said keeperin the latchedposition, meanshaving a lost motion connection with said latch member for overcoming said bias and for causing said biasing means to bias said latch member away from said keeper.

11. In a latch mechanism, a latch member, a keeper, an operating lever, means whereby said lever may be connected to said latch member to form a toggle therewith, a spring associated with said toggle to bias the same to a collapsed position when said latch member is in engagement with said keeper, and to another collapsed position when said toggle is moved across dead center.

12. In combination with ,an automobile hood, a latch member associated with the side of said hood, a keeper, an-operating lever, means whereby said lever may be connected to said latch member to form a toggle,

and a spring associated with said toggle to bias thesame to a collapsed position when said latch member is in engagement with said keeper and with the side of said hood for biasing the side of said hood against its seat.

13. In combination with an automobile hood, a latch member, means for mounting said latch member for movement in a plane perpendicular to the side of said hood, a

keeper, said latch member extending sub-' 651 member in cooperativerelation with said pin, said cam surface having ashoulder at one end thereof adapted'to form, when said pin is in engagement therewith, thecenter 15. In combination with an automobile hood, a latch member associated with the side of said hood, and means having an operating member mounted on said hood for simultaneously raising said hood and releasing said latch member with a snap action which when initiated is uncontrollable by-said operating member.

'16. In combination with an automobile hood and a latch member movable therewith, a keeper, an operating lever, means whereby said lever may be connected'to said latch member to form atoggle, means for snapping saidtoggle to a collapsed position in which said latch member disengages said keeper, when said lever is operated to a predetermined position, and means for limiting outward motion of said hood until said toggle has snapped to said collapsed position.

17 In a latch mechanism, a latch member having a camsurface, a keeper therefor, a pivoted lever for operating said latch member into either engagement or disengagement with said keeper, said operating lever being mounted for movement in the general plane of movement of said latch member, one end.

of said lever being operatively associated with said cam surface, and means including.

a spring for biasing said latch member into engagement with said keeper when said lever is in one position and for biasing said latch member out of engagement withsaid keeper when said lever is in another position. I

18. In combination with an automobile hood, a latch member, means for carrying said latch member on the inside of said hood, a keeper for said latch member, a pivotedoperatinglever for saidlatch member disposed through an opening in said hood, and means wherebyoperation of said lever causes said latch member to disengage said keeperwith a snap action which when initiated is uncontrollable by said lever.

19. In combination with an automobile hood, a latch member associated with aside of said hood, a keeper for said latch member, means for operating said latch member,

having a lost motion connection with said latch member, comprlsmg means for causing said latch member to engage said keeper with a snap action which when initiatedis uncontrollable by said operating means.

20. In combination with an automobile hood, a latch member associated with a side of said hood, a keeper for said latchmem ber, means for biasing said latch member against said keeper in the latched position, and means having a lost motion connection with said latch member for overcoming said said latch member out of engagement with said keeper when said lever is in another position.

In testimony whereof, the signature of the inventor is affixed hereto.

WALLACE ,E. CHENEY.

bias and for causing said biasing means to' bias said latch member away from said keeper.

21. In a latch mechanism, a latch member having a cam surface formed by two arms, a keeper for said latch member, a pivoted lever for operating said latch member, one

end of said lever being operatively associated with said cam surface between said arms, and means for biasing said latch member into engagement with said keeper when said lever is in one position and for biasing said latch member out of engagement with said keeper when said lever is in another position.

22. In combination with an-automobile hood, a latch member having a cam surface formed by two arms, means for carrying said latch member on the inside of said hood, a keeper for said latch member, a lever pivoted to said hood side and disposed through an openin in said hood side, one end of being operatively associated with said lever said cam surface between said arms, and means for biasing said latch member into engagement with said keeper when said lever is in one position and for biasing said latch member out of engagement Withsaid keeper when said lever is in another position.

23. In a latch mechanism, a latch member having a cam surface formed by two arms, a

keeper for said latch member, a pivoted lever for operating said latch member, one end of said lever being operatively associated with said cam surface between said arms, said lever being mountedfor movement in the general plane of movement of said latch member, and means for biasing said latch member into engagement with said keeper when said lever is in one position and forplane of movement of said latch member,

one end of said lever being operatively associated with said cam surface between. said arms, and means forbiasing said latch member into engagement with said keeper when said lever is in one position and for biasing 

